"Reforms are critical, but no reforms anyone has put forward or could put forward could close the existing gap of $2 billion, never mind $2 billion plus tax cuts of $1.5 billion,'' says Widmer.
"Right now we are in an unprecedented fiscal position. As a matter of fact, Michael Widmer (director) of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation reported that state revenues for fiscal year 2010, will be $18 billion, a drop-off of $3.8 billion from 2008. Year to date ... this is the biggest two-year decline since World War II ..."
By Nancy Reardon, Medfield Press / GateHouse News Service
Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, has been a vocal critic of choosing what he calls short-term fixes over long-term plans. "You take advantage of the opportunity in a fiscal crisis to make changes that will help over the long term," he said.
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